Air Force X-37B Space Plane Expected to Land Soon After Two Year Mission

Speculation is that the X-37B Air Force space plane drone is going to land soon at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The X-37B has been in orbit for almost two years. It was launched into space on an Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015.

Not even two days after historic launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center was revived by SpaceX following retirement of the Space Shuttle, the historic Shuttle Landing Facility at the Florida spaceport is preparing to once again host an end of mission landing as the Air Force’s X-37B mini spaceplane prepares to return to KSC for the first time. – NASASpaceflight.com

Watch: Air Force X-37B Landing in California

Apparently the Air Force is not talking and will only state that the X-37B is still flying on its mission.

“The X-37 is still on-orbit. The program is conducting a regularly scheduled exercise this week,” said Capt. Annmarie Annicelli, media operations officer at the Pentagon’s Air Force Press Desk.

What do you think the real mission of the X-37B is? Some say it could be a ‘space bomber’. Others that it might be a vehicle that can take out satellites in orbit. The vehicle orbits the Earth between 110 and 500 miles above the surface and is about 1/4 the size of the NASA Space Shuttle.

The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B is an unpiloted military space plane capable of long-duration flights in Earth orbit. The robotic spacecraft has a solar array for power and a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed. Image courtesy of US Air Force.